My DH brought a friend home from a hotel in August, (it is now march) I didn't realize my 1-2 bites per week were bbs until we found one on our bed 4 days ago. We have thrown out our bed because we found them in our boxspring, left the plastic wrap on the new one, vaccuumed and sprayed our room with 6 x 300ml bottles of dettol (does that work?? Our friends who lived in egypt said that is what they always used....) and we only found one spot near the wall - we don't have baseboards up- where I found casings and feces behind a book case. Our house is 1300 sq ft and we have 4 kids in 3 other rooms. I am the only one who was getting bites. I have vacuumed/inspected all of their rooms and no signs in any of them. Is it possible they just stayed in our room?? It was cluttered and quite messy, I'm embarrassed to say; they would have walked over my clothes some nights to get to me and I would have worn the clothes the next day in some cases, even. Is is possible that I didn't spread them around? I have done a mammoth clean up and see no traces anywhere except our bedroom. We have been vacuuming it about three times a day, esp. the place where I saw the evidence.
We live in a remote place and it took 3 days to get a call back from a PCO and he wants to charge me $650 to do my whole house but we have to be out for 24 hours. He talked about spraying the baseboards etc, in every room. He is in another town and can't come for about 2 weeks. What do I do? Can I just keep doing what I am doing? will that help until he can come?
I am just shocked that no one else has any bites and we had visitors for Christmas and on many other occasions but no one else was bitten, they used the guest room, of course, not our room, but yeah, is it possible?
Are there any other things I could be using besides Dettol that I can get in a remote northern town in Canada? Does Diatomaceous Earth really work? is that what the DE I see here is?

I actually think it is possible because I think I have them in my room but my roommate doesn't. The bug guy has insisted on spraying both rooms, which really sucks because my roommate is allergic to pesticides LOL. I'm extremely upset over the whole situation.

sad news... I think I was just bitten on my love seat. I feel sick.... What do I do? The PCO can't come for another week and a half! By then they could be all thru my house and at school... I have been reading that i shouldn't self treat, but really, wait for a week or more with out doing anything????? I did vacuum said love seat - didn't see anything, but that doesn't mean anything, right? I can't stand the thought of my kids sitting there and getting bites.

For what it's worth, I suspect that I picked up a hitch hiker at a hotel in March of 08. I didn't realize I had bed bugs until June of 08. (I have a cat, which means both fleas and holes in my screens from her claws, which could mean mosquitos, and I was traveling a lot during that time.)

My bedroom was a mess--not dirty messy, but super cluttered messy because it was a busy time of the year at work and I was traveling a lot. (For example, I had clean sheets sitting on the side of the bed I didn't sleep on for much of that time.)

I am pretty sure that my infestation was mostly confined to the bedroom in my one bedroom apartment. When (after thermal treatment) I went in and really, really cleaned the bedroom, I expected to find all kinds of signs on and around the bed since I hadn't moved the bed in years (I mean the frame and box spring to, say, clean under it. Obviously I had moved the mattress in that time to change sheets and such.) But I didn't. Since the PCOs who treated my place spent a good 20 to 30 minutes walking me through how to inspect, I'm pretty sure that having seen eggs, nymphs, adults, and fecal matter, I'd know what to look for now and be able to spot it if I saw it again.

Which is a loooong way of saying that yes, if the bugs are undisturbed, which mine were, it's possible for an infestation to be largely contained to a single room. If they're eating regularly and it's early in an infestation, there's no reason for them to go hide far away from their food source.

However, some research suggests that with bed bugs there is an inherent tendency for a few bugs to wander off from the main population. We're not sure why, but it can happen.

The PCOs who inspected my place said that they were pretty sure the bugs hadn't migrated to my living room, but the thing is--there is no way to know 100% whether a straggler has wandered off or not.

The other big problem is that research suggests that as much as 60% or more of the population does not react to bites. It's possible, and I don't say this to alarm you, but you should know it, that other people in your family are getting bitten but don't realize it because they don't react to bites. Because no one can look at a skin response and diagnose bed bugs or not, and because so many people don't react, figuring out if they've spread to other rooms just based on bites is not a good strategy, even though it would seem to be if you didn't know about the low percentage of people who react.

Plastic wrap on the new bed is no guarantee that the bugs won't move into that bed. If you really want to protect the new bed, I would look into encasements made specifically for bed bugs. (If you have cats, that may not be a great plan, if the cats claw the bed.)

I didn't have chemical treatment done, but $650 for a 4 bedroom house sounds like a pretty reasonable quote to me. The bigger question is whether this is a PCO who knows how to handle bed bugs.

If you haven't yet read the FAQs, I would do that. There is one specifically on choosing a PCO. I didn't really get to choose my PCO since I rent, but I still found the questions to ask bit really helpful. I had a really good experience with the pest control techs who came out to my house, and I think a lot of that was that the FAQ helped me ask the right questions (like what chemicals are you using where, what can I do to support treatment, what do eggs look like and how should I inspect my luggage, all of which the guy was happy to show me. He even said that most people just had them treat and didn't ask anything at all, and I was baffled. I told him that I travel a lot and I wanted to be sure I knew what to look for in hotels so that this didn't happen again.).

The short version is that generally speaking, a professional who knows how to handle bed bugs is your best bet. You mention that you're geographically isolated which complicates matters a bit because my next suggestion was going to be a bed bug detection dog.

As for the 2 weeks issue, for most chemical treatment, PCOs will ask you to prepare the house in advance. Honestly, with a 4 bedroom house and three kids, you'll probably need those two weeks to prep, since all fabric items that are washable will need to be laundered in hot or warm water, dried on hot until very dry and very hot, and then put into clean airtight bags and sealed that way to make sure there are no bugs or eggs in the fabric items. (Again, the FAQ has info on what to do with clothes that can't handle that kind of high heat, so take a look at those.)

To sum up:

If I were you, I'd call the PCO back *after* you've read the FAQ on questions to ask the PCO. If the PCO answers the questions that the FAQ suggests you ask to your satisfaction, go ahead and schedule a visit and use the next few weeks to prep.

If the PCO doesn't answer those questions in a way that gives you confidence, then drop back by here and post and let us know what he or she said.

Don't put any DE down until after you've talked to the PCO that you're going to go with. It's an inhalation hazard which must be applied in particular ways to be effective against the bugs and safe for you, and it's not alone going to be enough to get rid of your problem. Also, you will need to tell whatever PCO you have treat your place everything you've done to self-treat in order to make sure that the PCO takes those factors into account when he or she treats.

Not doing anything beyond laundering--carefully--until you get someone out for an inspection should help decrease the spread of the bugs if they haven't already. Don't move items out of the infested room. And while you do laundry, exercise caution: put laundry from that room into garbage bags to carry them to the washing machine. Don't leave those bags sitting around; take them straight from your room to the laundry. Seal the bags that have been used to carry laundry from your room up and don't reuse them or leave them lying about.

Just because you noticed the bite on the love seat doesn't necessarily mean that's where you were bitten. Bites can take hours, days or weeks to show up. I've never heard of Dettol used as a treatment for bbs however. What kind of treatment is the PCO going to use? Did they tell you? Is it spraying only or steaming too? Given your remote location I'll guess it's the spray job...

Did they give you any prep instructions for the treatment? Most times they'll tell you to wash and bag all the clothes, linens etc prior. Can you call back and ask what you should be doing? Often they say to vaccum thoroughly (dispose of bag immediately in outside trash can). You could maybe start on that. Other things to avoid spreading them from room to room, don't bring pillows, blankies, boxes etc. or anything like that from one room to another just in case.

Do you have a steamer? If you do, personally I'd get a head start on steaming the bed, couch, chairs etc., given the lenght of time you have to wait for PCO. There are other posts that can tell you how to do it correctly. In fact I know a co-worker who effectively eliminated her infestation on her own, with many cans of Raid and a steamer.

BedBugs spread and after 7 months it is possible for them to spread to other rooms, yet the word hear is (Possible.) Not guarenteed for bedbugs do take at least 10-12 months from one or two bedbugs being brought in to having a small family in each room. Bedbugs are not quick and don't spread as fast as you think, yet you must get them eary to help the legnth of treatments and time to achieve results and protection. Lets say you get bedbugs and you get a few bites, ok, now if you go to the doctor for if you don't know what bedbug bites look like, and have a preventative and a search and destroy mission for your PCO in the main room you sleep in, and just an inspection for the other rooms with a basic general application and baseboard application, there's a very good chance you have stopped them or will make it difficult for them to travel from room to room, due to residual pesticide protection. Don't mop or clean for 45 days after treatment, with Phantom its longer. JMO...

I think spread of bed bugs through out the home yes, depends on how bad you have them. But how quickly also depends on what kind of activity is in the home, imo.

A working couple or single adult has much different activity in a home than of a family with small children. Two adults will most likely get up in the morning get dressed, or shower and get dressed before leaving the house and/or lounging in other rooms. There are much less items that get moved from room to room.
When babies, small children are involved there are many activities that come to play, more rooms highly being used. There are midnight feedings (in pj's), bringing babies to the living room for bottles multiple times in the middle of the night, children sleeping in various beds of the house, children bringing their beloved pillow, blanket or stuffed toy that they sleep with all over the house, in parents room, on the couch, dragged all over....see what I mean? There isn't a family with kids out there that have their kids strip in their room, bath and then sit at the kitchen table for breakfast.
So in my unprofessional opinion, I think if there were a lower level infestation on a working single persons homes would be more likely to stay contained to one room than of a active family. Professional please correct me here if I'm wrong. It would help correct some of my views and anxiety about the issue.
I have a concern, maybe question on what BugBoy states. BugBoy, other professionals, please clarify if you can.

“and just an inspection for the other rooms with a basic general application and baseboard application, there's a very good chance you have stopped them or will make it difficult for them to travel from room to room, due to residual pesticide protection. Don't mop or clean for 45 days after treatment, with Phantom its longer. JMO...”

If a few (4-6) bugs were brought in on a belonging, let’s say jacket or purse and that item were placed on the sofa…. Some bugs hitch a ride or find a way to the bedroom and make a home. Wouldn’t some of those bugs stay on the couch and wait for their next meal that lounges there?? Eventually set up shop there? Maybe not multiply as quickly because activity there isn’t ideal?
In an active house, where mostly likely 60-70% of people don’t react to bites for months and then one person starts to show bites a month or two later...wouldn’t an inspection most likely show signs in the bed room(s) and not so visible on the living room area where the infestation started? Wouldn’t a “general application and baseboard application” just keep the bugs in that room from traveling to other rooms? Wouldn’t this give the false sense that the bugs are gone from the house until the infested couch gets bad enough to notice, or a bug hitches a ride on a pair of socks/pj’s back to a bedroom?

I agree that an infestation doesn’t grow as quickly as one can think…thus the reason for concern on the questions I ask above. After let’s say 2 months of treatments as you state above, a family is given a false all clear, then invest in getting all new furnishing for their children to find out a few months from that, that the infestation is still there.
What gets me very upset, in a situation like this, the home owners warranty is now up, and they were told the bugs were brought back in somehow….chasing a ghost.

Sadly, due to my personal experience of the extent of our past infestation, trying to hire the best at the time, doing everything possible for many months I have some faith issues with tradition treatments unless that “search and destroy mission” is taken in every square in of my 2000sq ft home and everything in it. Now how much would that cost me?? Probably close to the same as another vikane fumigation. Very sadly structural fumigation is too expensive for many home owners to once, never mind if a reinfestation was to occur.